Field Trips: Tempesta with Musicopia some after-school baroque music making

During the rehearsal period for May’s Great Books concerts, a group of Tempesta string players rehearsed selections from Telemann’s Don Quixote with a roomful of young violinists, violists and cellists in the Musicopia String Orchestra who had been learning it too.

Tempesta principal violist Daniela Pierson (above, far left) is Artistic Coordinator of the Musicopia String Orchestra. Musicopia is a non-profit organization that brings educational music enrichment programs to schools and communities throughout the Delaware Valley.

…the Musicopia children got completely excited whenever we played one of the movements they had been practicing

Later that week, two busloads of children, students at the Philadelphia School and Wilson Middle School, took a field trip to attend our dress rehearsal at the Friends Center, 15th and Cherry. Their time with us began with Gwyn Roberts summarizing the books that each piece was based on and how the music related to the literature. After the rehearsal, there was time for a bit of Q&A before the children had to catch their busses back to school. They were a great audience, and really helped us to polish the pieces just by being there and listening. Thanks for coming!

About 96 people, children in the Musicopia program and their parents, came to our Arch Street performance of Great Books. If you remember cheering and giggling between certain movements coming from the balcony, it was the Musicopia children, who got completely excited whenever we played one of the movements they had been practicing.